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Often, serving in the California State Assembly is a prerequisite to serving in the state senate, with many following that path. In the case of Josh Becker, though, a lack of experience might have actually helped his campaign.
Among seven candidates in the March primary election, including five Democrats, Becker received the most votes at 23.8 percent. Primary opponents included former Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, who faced opposition from outside groups, with the San Jose Mercury News writing that her “campaign has seen a barrage of negative literature, describing her as ‘Sacramento Sally Lieber’ and telling residents they deserve better.”
Becker then trounced Republican challenger Alex Glew in the November general election, winning 75.4 percent of the vote. He succeeds Jerry Hill, who was termed out and endorsed Becker.
Background
Having earned a JD-MBA from Stanford University in 1999, Becker previously served as CEO of Lex Machina, a legal analytics firm now owned by LexisNexis. In an October 2020 exit interview from the legal tech world, Becker told the podcast LawNext, “I’m really excited at the state level to work, again, for both increased openness and transparency… as well as in terms of access to justice.”
Becker’s campaign website noted him as a 20-year resident of Menlo Park with a wife and two children.
Select Legislation
AB 1400: Becker is among more than a dozen co-authors between both legislative houses for this bill, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, which would provide single-payer health coverage known as CalCare for all state residetns. CalMatters noted in February 2021 that the bill could pose a dilemma for Gov. Gavin Newsom amidst the likely recall election he faces.
AB 122: This bill, which Becker is among the co-authors of, would require bicyclists to yield right-of-way at intersections rather than coming to a full stop.
